If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Hybrid View

Robbing at a new hive

Hi all, first time beekeeper here...

I just installed the bees in my hive 4 days ago. I tried the baggie feeding method, but the baggie had a hole in it (figures) and some spilled down into the hive and trickled out the bottom. I have a screened bottom board and the "floor" insert was in. Anyway, there has been a lot of activity around the entrance and I think it might be robbing brought on by the spill. I am pretty sure that there are two kinds of bees one more black and one more yellow. I have the entrance reducer on the smallest space so I figure that must be helping. I've since removed the "floor" insert from the bottom thus removing some of the spilled syrup. It was covered in whitish flakes, is that wax and bee poo?

I would like to check to make sure that the queen has been released and remove her cage and get the frames aligned, but am afraid that if I open it, the robber bees will get the upper hand. I don't know what to do... Please help!

Re: Robbing at a new hive

First off are you seeing any actual fighting ? Is it chaos and last all day or does it look somewhat syncronized with everyone facing the hive and only last for awhile usually late afternoon, if it's the first it's probably robbing if it's the second it probably orientation flights

Re: Robbing at a new hive

I am pretty sure it is robbing. The bees are like a cloud around the front of the hive and It looks like fighting to me. And there are 2 colors of bees. I read somewhere about putting a wet sheet over the hive and that the bees from the hive can find their way in and out, but the robbers can't does that work? Also, is it ok to open the hive at night when the robbers are gone? It is a bit cold here at night still...

Re: Robbing at a new hive

Have to wait for someone else as that is beyond my experience when I first got my hive that first eve I thought there was robbing going on and freaked out and called my mentor he came over and just chuckled and said it was orientation flights some of my bees were darker than the others too check out . Orientation flight videos on YouTube and then look for robbing videos and see if you can see the difference

Re: Robbing at a new hive

Have you tried to "wash" away the spilled syrup on the ground? I made a bit of a mess on the ground setting up my 1 gallon feeding jar into my hive when I set it up. Spilled a bunch of syrup on some rocks in front of the hive and that attracked a lot of attention from other surag lovers like ants and wasps. So I hooked up the hose and washed all that spilled syrup away and that ended the wasps from getting too close to the entrance of the hive. The gaurd bees were on it though. I saw a lot of aggressive behavior from my bees toward the wasps. They didn't stick around for too long when several bees started to really give them the business.

Now that I've cleaned up my spillage the wasps dont bother coming around anymore. I still get courious ants. I need to whack that colony of ants anyway. They are trashing my flagstone patio with its sand substrait.

Re: Robbing at a new hive

Looks like orientation flights to me too see how they climb up take off and face the hive and don't really go anywhere you will know fighting when you see it I installed a new package last week and my other hive had some bees checking it out and 1-2 bees were dragging them off the entrance and fighting untill they hit the ground and they wouldn't leave them alone untill they were dead for me it was real easy to tell the new package was light colored Italian looking bees and my existing hive was darker carniolians and every black be that landed got drug to the ground by a couple of light bees and killed